Baseball Savant’s newest Statcast metric put a fresh spotlight on first base defense this week, and it gave the Guardians an interesting little split-screen.
On Wednesday, Baseball Savant rolled out a stat that tracks how well first basemen handle throws, especially the ones that aren’t easy chest-high catches. The metric focuses on the awkward stuff - the stretches, the twists, the low throws that force a first baseman to leave his comfort zone.
That’s where Kyle Manzardo showed up near the top. Manzardo has been worth +3 Receiving Outs Above Average this season, which ranks fourth among first basemen in baseball. It’s a notable result for a player whose overall defensive profile has still been shaky, and it comes with a small wrinkle: he’s been in the minors for the past two weeks, and he’s still sitting at -5 Outs Above Average overall this season.
Even so, the new number hints at a skill that can get buried inside the broader defensive grades. Manzardo’s ability to receive throws has been a real strength, even if his overall work in the field has lagged behind.
Last season, he hit 27 home runs, but his value was dragged down by -7 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average, leaving him at just 1.2 fWAR. This year, he’s improved by DRS, sitting at +3, but he still grades as below average by OAA.
The difference, based on the new receiving stat, appears to be that his issue is more about range and mobility on balls in play than about handling the throw itself.
That’s an encouraging sign for Manzardo, especially after the Guardians added Nathaniel Lowe at the trade deadline and Manzardo lost his big league roster spot. It doesn’t erase the rest of the defensive concerns, but it does point to one area where he’s better than the raw numbers have suggested.
Lowe, for his part, has already made his mark in that same category since joining Cleveland. He’s been worth +1 Receiving Out Above Average with the Guardians, and one play from last week showed exactly why: he finished off a win over the Tigers with a clean pick on a low throw from Brayan Rocchio.
Rhys Hoskins, meanwhile, landed right where the season has mostly left him - in the middle. He checked in as a neutral receiving option, at 0 Outs Above Average, which fits with a rough year overall. Before he landed on the injured list earlier this week, Hoskins had been among the worst first basemen in the league at handling scoops.
The Guardians have filled that roster spot with Fry, who has posted -1 Receiving Outs Above Average. That makes sense, given that he isn’t a first baseman by trade.
So for now, Cleveland’s first base mix is Fry and Lowe, while Manzardo is taking his glove and bat to Triple-A Columbus and Hoskins is on the injured list. And when Manzardo gets back, this new Statcast number suggests there’s at least one part of the job he should handle just fine.
In Other News...
Kyle Manzardo Is Facing A Big Test In Triple A
Kyle Manzardos latest assignment in Triple-A came after the Guardians brought in Nathaniel Lowe, pushing the young first baseman back down to keep his bat and approach in focus. He has responded with some pop, putting up a .264/.339/.547 slash line with four home runs in 62 plate appearances, which at least shows the kind of impact Cleveland wants to see from a player whose power has never been in doubt.
The challenge, though, is the same one that has followed Manzardo for stretches of his rise: the swing-and-miss that keeps his production from looking as complete as it could. His strikeout rate remains high and the contact percentage low, so this stint looks less like a simple detour and more like a targeted development stop, with the organization trying to sharpen specific parts of his game before the next call comes. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Climbing But One Doubt Still Follows This Run
The Guardians latest surge has made the American League Central race feel a lot more relevant than it did just a few days ago. After sweeping a three-game set against the Rockies, Cleveland is now within 3.5 games of first-place Chicago, and the timing matters as the club tries to keep pace in a division that still feels open. The additions of Jo Adell and Foster Griffin have also helped steady the roster, giving the team some much-needed lift as the stretch run approaches.
Still, the big-picture question has not gone away because Cleveland is one game under .500 with 31 left and sitting tied for the final AL Wild Card spot. The schedule ahead offers a real path, since the Guardians have one of the easiest remaining slates in the league, but they are also living in the margin now. The recent run has created opportunity, yet it has not answered the one doubt that continues to shadow this push. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Lineup Is Finally Sending A Promising Deadline Message
Stephen Vogt finally got to write the same lineup card twice in a row, and for a club that has spent much of the season juggling roles, that alone carried some meaning. The Guardians used that look against the Rockies and came away with wins, with trade pickups Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe settled in as everyday pieces and giving the offense a steadier shape as Cleveland keeps searching for consistency at the plate.
The bigger message may be the way Vogt is using these final weeks to test fit as much as production, mixing in player positioning and matchups against right-handed pitching while the season heads into its last month. For a team still making adjustments, back-to-back games with the same group offered a small but noticeable sign that some of the deadline additions are starting to define the picture rather than just fill it. [Read more 🡒]